1/ For some time in the mid-nineties, Kent Marcum had inquired about the possibility of some form of association between SIBI and an institute of Biblical studies being developed in Quito, Ecuador. The work in Quito had begun in 1989 with a team that Kent Marcum had recruited at Sunset called the Operation Ecuador. A ministry training school was a part of the original plan.

2/ Truman Scott and Kent Marcum met during the Pan American Lectureship in Quito in 1996 to finalize an agreement which was signed in Jan 1997 and formally approved by QSOBS sponsors in Pueblo in July. The agreement made the QSOBS a branch school of Sunset, with shared responsibilities with Kent Marcum and Operation Ecuador.

3/ The SIBI building of a faculty began with Arthur and Carmen Puente being recruited and sent to Quito with the support of Campbell St. in Jackson, TN and Jorge and Maritza Pineda being supported by Pleasant Valley in Little Rock, AK. Kent Marcum and Dario Lopera already resided in Quito.

4/ The student population grew from less than ten part-time students to a high of forty resident, scholarshipped students from most of the nine Spanish speaking countries of South America.

5/ The Operation Ecuador had already purchased and remodeled a historic villa and then added a large facility for the worship assemblies and classes for the church, along with large classrooms, library, offices, cafeteria and dormitories for the school. The facilities are among the best in South America.

6/ Jerry Lawlis was recruited from his pulpit ministry with the sponsoring church in Pueblo, CO to become the fulltime, stateside Mission Coordinator to secure funding for the School. He soon had his support, was funding the expansion of the school and began leading the annual Medical Mission project in Northern Ecuador.

7/ Each year major sponsors have met to consider the progress and plans of the total effort in Quito, including the school. The first such meeting, in which Sunset was starting to have a part, was outside Oklahoma City (1996), then Pueblo, C0 (1997), Jackson, TN (1998), Wichita Falls, TX(1999), Bellevue, WA (2000), Lubbock, TX (2001), Pueblo, CO (2002) and Huntsville (2003).

8/ Major leaders from the beginning of the Institute in Quito were Jackson, TN, Pueblo, CO, Bellevue, WA, with Wichita Falls and Lubbock entering prime areas later.

9/ Sunset has given special recognition with plaques to Kent Marcum, Jackson and Pueblo churches, and Vaughn Graham.

10/ The academic program consists of a three year curriculum that places pointed emphasis on ministry practicum. Among the classes that have graduated one team has planted a church in the costal city of Portoviejo. Other teams are being formed to go to the large cities of Ecuador.

11/ Seminars by visiting teachers have enriched the work: Dan Coker, Billy Moore, Jay Jarboe and others.

12/ The annual budget of the School has grown to over $225,000, covering most of the expenses of Operation Ecuador.

13/ Much research has been done by Kent Marcum and the faculty toward recruiting stateside teams in planting churches throughout the nine, Spanish speaking nations of South America.

14/ The fifth year of the school, 2002, saw a great deal of change in QSOBS: the relocation of the faculty members completing their five year commitments (Arthur Puente and Jorge Pineda), enlisting new faculty members from the hemisphere and in a revised relationship of the School with SIBI. QSOBS will transition from being a Branch school to an Affiliate School, leaving more autonomy of administration to school administrators, working with one sponsoring church and consulting with a Board of Advisors. Sunset will consider its major purposes to have been accomplished in helping to develop the school in ministry training as a Branch School.

15/ A frequently discussed horizon is to establish extended leadership training throughout the Hispanic countries of South America. Correspondence studies, seminars and satellite schools would be the major means of training. Select students would be urged to apply to QSOBS for acceptance in advanced training. Sunset is eager to add its resources to this ministry.